Lum Berries
by Jeanne is here
Summary: Brock felt guilty a total of three times before arriving in town, and this moment made the counter go up to four.
1. Day 0

AN: I do not own the characters nor do I own any of the Pokemon. If I did, James would not be the only character engaged. This is for the Barry Challege hosted by yamiyugi23. My berry is: Lum Berry. The Effect is: Cures any status aliment. The situation is: Write about someone getting over an aliment.

* * *

He sighed as he sat on a dark brown bench and fisted his hands in his hair, resisting his elbows on his knees. He nearly let out a sob before taking a deep breath in. The sky was too happy for his current mood; still he rested on the bench for several moments, trying to get his emotions under control before heading to the Pokecenter. Brock felt guilty a total of three times before arriving in town, and this moment made the counter go up to four.

Brock stood, ready to return to the Pokecenter where Ash and Dawn were waiting for him, when a Lucario, her Lucario, ran up to him, telepathically yelling his name.

"We can save her," Lucario panted.

"How? She's going to be dead in two weeks, there's not enough time to get any cure. There is no possible way we can save her," Brock flopped down on the bench, eyes focused on the ground.

"What about the legend of the Lum berry?" the Lucario asked.

"The what?" Brock brought his head up so sharply Lucaio had to wonder how the South East Asian looking man didn't give himself whiplash.

"The legend states that Lum berries gradually store nutrients, which may allow the berry to cure any status ailment, in both pokemon and humans," Lucario looked unto the breeder in training with hope in its eyes.

"But, it's just a legend," Brock looked back to the ground, "There's no guarantee we'll find it, and not in two weeks."

"That would be incorrect," Lucario shook it's head, "The abilities of the Lum berry are shrouded in legend, the berry itself is not. There is a man, about three days from here, who owns a little cabin in the woods. He sells berries for a living, and he has some Lum berries. We can get there and back in six days, a week if we don't leave until tomorrow. I can't go, I have to look after my Lady, but _you_ can. Espeon will go with you; to make sure you get there and come back."

"Then we have to go! But…" Brock looked in the direction of the Pokecenter, "I can't go before the end of today. I'm part of a traveling party. We can separate for a few weeks, but I need to tell them where I'm going. Besides, I don't have the right set of pokemon for this type of journey. Can we leave early tomorrow?"

"Of course, I will tell Espeon, the two of you will meet in the lobby of the Poekcenter at six tomorrow morning. Please, do not back out of this, please help my lady."

"I will, you have my word."

With that, Brock got up and ran to the Pokecenter. Hope filled his entire being. Maybe she wouldn't die, maybe she would never be effected by her ailment again, maybe…maybe…

Brock entered the Pokecenter with a smile on his face. Tomorrow would be a fantastic day.


	2. Day 1

The lobby of the Pokecenter was sterile, more sterile than any room Espeon had ever been in before. Nothing had any color except for nurse Joy's… everything. The walls were white, the floors were white, the furniture was white, even the counter and computer were white. Why a hospital that receives bleeding patents would ever have white everything was beyond Espeon's imagination.

The couch, however white, did look comfortable, and by jumping on it, the cat like pokemon found that it really was that comfy. A quick look around ensured that none of the few early morning millers had discovered the pokemon, and Brock had still not left his room yet.

Espeon curled into a little ball in the corner of the couch, and that is where Brock found it, sleeping like nothing was wrong in the world.

* * *

Brock woke up earlier than he intended. Dawn, Ash and Pikachu slept soundly while he dressed for the day. Upon entering the lobby of the Pokecenter, he made sure he had the correct pokemon with him for the six day journey to the Berry Man's house and back. With him, he had Steelix, Geodude, and Crobat, all of which his brother sent to him from the Gym, in exchange for Croagunk of course. Brock left Happiny with Ash and Dawn, trusting them to take care of a pokemon for a few days.

The lobby of the Pokecenter was welcome, no matter how sterile someone would describe it. This was the Pokecenter, the one place everyone could receive healing and not be charged for it. It was the place travelers went to get a room for the night, and it was the place where many memories could be made. There was no way he would ever think of the Pokecenter as anything other than comforting.

On the couch, in the corner of the lobby, there was a purple figure. It was decently sized for being a purple ball. Slowly and quietly, Brock approached the couch, careful not to make any loud sounds. This inspection paid off, for Brock discovered that the mysterious figure was none other than an Espeon, her Espeon. Brock smiled softly before picking the small psychic cat up and carrying it out of the Pokecenter, eager to get on the road.

* * *

Neither cat nor human spoke a word until they stopped in a clearing on the night of the first day. It was the most lonely Brock had felt since temporarily leaving Ash's traveling party. Silence was never his best friend, being so used to noise having nine siblings. Well, eight younger siblings and Forrest, who stopped acting so much like a child when he took over duties in Pewter city.

Espeon waited as Brock set up camp, quietly lamenting the fact that humans couldn't just travel at all times of day. The fire Brock setup was warm, and while there was no tent, the sleeping bag was comfy enough. It wasn't until the two had finished eating that Espeon said anything.

"So," he asked as Brock put freshly washed pots away, "Why do you care about my master?"

"Just because neither of us asked for the betrothal doesn't mean I should continue to blame her for our parent's choices. I should have gotten to know her, gotten to befriend her, and instead I hated her and everything she stood for. I can't help but to feel so guilty for everything I ever did to her in malice."

Brock looked down at his hands and Espeon almost felt like hitting himself for making Brock sad. Almost.

"Did you know," the man continued, "she knew I was flirting with Joy and Jenny whenever she wasn't there?" Espeon gasped in horror, but Brock refused to stop.

"She knew, and yet she never made any demands of me to stop, or to just commit to her. She was the most amazing person and she let me do whatever I wanted, and I never got to thank her for that," Brock gave out a small sob.

A glass of water appeared in front of the man, which he greedily drank from before continuing. " If she dies, I wont' be able to convince her that everything she did for me wasn't' in vain, that she's worth coming home to every night, and that I should have been friends with her from the start."

"So that's why you're helping her," Espeon said, "Guilt. You feel guilty because you were a terrible human being to her, so now you want to fix it. You realize that she's already forgiven you if she's just letting do your own thing right?"

"No," Brock replied, "She hasn't forgiven me. She's putting up with me because she feels like there isn't another choice. Her parents routinely cheated on each other, she doesn't know how normal couples are supposed to act. While I know she would never cheat on me, she feels obligated to let me cheat on her."

"Stop stressing about it," Espeon attempted to sooth, "I'm pretty sure she knows how regular couples work, she knows better than to just let you commit adultery. On the other had," Espeon paused to take a sip of water, "She knows you didn't ask for the betrothal either. Who really is she to stop you from doing what makes you happy. I guess it's just another thing you two need to talk about."

"Ugh," Brock moaned as he crawled into his sleeping bag, "Can we talk about her confusing ways tomorrow, I need sleep."

"Fine," Espeon sighed, as he curled up on top of Brock, "We leave first thing in the morning. Good night."


	3. Day 2

AN: I'm so sorry about not updating for weeks at a time. This chapter did not want to be written.

* * *

The day did not start bright, nor did it start with clear skies. Espeon was thoroughly soaked by the time the air left the clearing and went further into the forest. The trees, with their lush foliage, blocked some of the rain, but the two were still waterlogged by the time they managed to get anywhere.

A river, winding and old, ran through the forest. The bridge was old, and while it would normally have been fine, the rain had seeped into the wood, rotting it, and the rope was frayed, and likely to snap when wet. Normally, crossing the river would have been a fine endeavor, but the rain caused the river to rise, and move faster than it normally would have.

"Do we just wait here for things to settle down and dry out?" Espeon asked.

"That could take precious time we don't have. I know Lucario said we have two weeks, but I don't want to take that much time. Besides, you never know what might jump out at us. We're going to cross the bridge."

"You're crazy," Espeon stated as he jumped onto Brock's shoulders, "But I'm going to trust you."

"Okay," Brock murmured to himself, "It's just a quick hoe from here to there."

Brock slowly began to cross the bridge, and it was all he and Espeon could do not to look around at the water rushing by. About half way across the bridge, a plank came loose under the weight of Brock's foot. Reaching out to grab something to keep him from falling off the bridge, Brock got a handful of rope, and a twisted ankle from trying to not move the foot that had its placement on the bridge. Espeon did not appreciate almost falling off Brock's shoulders, and he dug his claws in when he almost fell of the sturdy man.

Crossing the rest of the bridge was extremely painful for Brock, but somehow he managed to make it across. pain ran through his ankle like a hot poker when he tried to move onward, but he didn't have a choice, they couldn't rest at the riverbank, and there was still quite a few hours until the duo would stop for lunch.

* * *

The gym was simply incredible. It was a rather large round building with a giant dome over it. A rectangular entrance shot out from the dome, giving it an odd shape. The building was mint green, not a color one would expect for a building that was in the middle of an industrialized city. The dom was made of a thick glass, allowing the light from outside into the windowless building. The only thing missing from the grandeur of the gym was an official league sign, but he knew it would be a few years before Bertha would retire, and Volkner would replace her, allowing Her to become a gym leader.

Brock was surprised no one was at the front of the Gym to greet him. He had called as soon as he, Ash, and Dawn got rooms in the Pokecenter. He had hoped that she'd forgive him for the last argument they had. He had been stupid and insulted her honor, and she in retaliation told him off for flirting with Jenny and Joy constantly.

Still, he thought, even if she was angry, she'd never allow him to walk into the gym by himself, if only because she didn't want anyone to know that her love life was anything less than perfect.

As soon as he entered the gym, a lucario greeted him. He had forgotten that she had a riolu which later evolved into the lucario which stood before him. The lucario didn't indicate it had anything to say, it just lead him toward the private part of the Gym, and into her bedroom.

She was laying down on the bed, tucked in tightly.

"Lucario," She moaned in pain.

"Yes my lady?" the lucario responded.

"Can I get out of bed already? Brock-"

"Is right here," Brock finished for her.

"Brock, I-" She took a sip of water to help clear her voice, "I would like to ask your forgiveness."

"What?" Brock was confused by her request, not believing she needed to be forgiven for anything.

"I said such" She paused to cough before finishing, "Such terrible things about to you. Please forgive me."

"You're already forgiven, you don't need to ask for it. What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, panic creeping into her voice.

"You never apologize for anything. What, are you dying?" Brock had intended it to be a joke, but the look on her face had unfortunate implications.

"My lady has-" Lucario was interrupted quickly by her.

"What Lucario means to say is that I have an ailment for which there is no cure. If I am to die, I'd like to pass with a clear conscious."

Shock filled Brock to the point of overflowing. He didn't remember leaving the gym, but he knew her lucario followed him out of the gym, and told him where to get the cure to the unknown ailment. Brock knew he could never make up for years of hatred, but if he could make sure she lived, he'd spend the rest of his life trying.

* * *

By the time the human and the pokemon stopped for the night, Brock was unable to do much in the way of walking. His limp had steadily gone from barely noticeable to painful looking through the day. A quick inspection of his ankle, however, showed no sign of swelling, which the man took to be a good sign. The scratches on his shoulders from where Espeon had dug in earlier were sore, but not any worse than a bruise, which Brock took to also be a good sign.

"We should rest for a day," Espeon said.

"No," Brock replied shortly, "We shouldn't. The limp won't be so bad in the morning."

"It will take more time to heal that way…" Eseon insisted.

"I'll deal with it when she's better," Brock replied.

"Don't push yourself too hard. We have a couple weeks to get the Berry and get back. She'll be fine."

"Just sleep my backpack, I want to keep going, but you probably want to sleep."

"Brock…" Espeon wasn't sure what he should do. Yes, Brock made a valid point, but Espeon knew it was wrong to let someone continue to walk around while still in pain. He sighed and allowed Brock to do whatever he wanted. It wasn't Espeon's fault if the human killed himself in an attempt to get the cure to his betrothed ailment.


	4. Days 3-7

Days three and four were not very exciting. It was mostly a quick travel here, go there, wit for this to happen, wait for that to happen. It was so boring, in fact, that Espeon decided to run ahead of Brock, being the faster of the two traveling companions.

Day five was when things started getting interesting.

* * *

"I'm sorry young man, but this berry is for someone very special," The berry man was aging, but somewhat kindly, which really was more than Brock should have expected out of a man which had been known to most as crotchety.

"But, I need to give it to a special person!" Brock was desperate to get the thing he know _She_ needed.

"I'll strike a deal with you kid," the berry man said, "If you can wait forty-eight hours I can give you a berry, but no sooner than that."

"I'll wait," Brock half proclaimed, "I'll wait as long as it take, just to get the berry for my love!"

"You're too dramatic, and no one is listening to you anymore," snarked Espeon.

It was true, the berry man had left to go plant the Lum Berry. Brock sighed and prepared to sleep outside again, not daring to ask the old man for a place to sleep for the night.

As Brock sat on his sleeping bag, he pulled out a medicine book from his bag.

"What's that?" Espeon asked.

"It's a book which contains the information on how to prepare the berry for _her_. The skin of the berry is very hard, so it can't be eaten straight. Most advise cooking the berry, but that might take the nutrients out of it. I'm hoping the book has a better suggestion."

"Oh," Espeon said, "I hope you find what your looking for."

"I do too."

* * *

The Journey back was fairly quick. There were several one way shortcuts back to the city, but they were faster than just gong on the same path as before. Espeon led the way, knowing exactly where all the shortcuts were. No Pokemon were used in the process of procuring the berry, or in the making of the cure. Brock stayed at the gym until _she_ got better. Once she was healed enough to walk, however, there was no stopping the rage at which _she_ threw at him.

* * *

"Why?" she asked brokenly, "Why would you cure me? You don't even like me."

"Ellie-"

"Don't you 'Ellie' me! What was I supposed to think!"

"I don't understand, why are you angry with me?"

"Don't you get it. This was the only way out. Death is the only way to break it off. You would have been fine with Joy, or Jenny, or both for all I care, and I wouldn't have gotten in the way. Sure, you'd mourn me like a good little fiance, but we both know you don't love me. Why would you cure me if you had the chance to be happier and marry one or both of the women of your dreams!"

"But Ellie-"

"NO! You don't seem to get it. You didn't ask for this-"

"Neither did you. You didn't ask your parents to practically marry you off to me when we were five. You didn't-"

"Didn't what Brock? Let you have all the freedom when you wanted it? You were the one who complained about me making too much of an effort!"

"We were FIVE"

"And yet you still held to your belief, even after you grew up."

"Where were you when dad ran away?"

"I offered to move Danny, Jack, and I to Pewter and you begged me not to. Where were you when Jack destroyed the gym and we had to rebuild from scratch. We could have-"

"Could have what? You didn't mention anything until after the gym was already rebuilt. You never called when I was traveling with Ash-"

"I assumed you didn't want anyone to know about me, least of all the woman you-"

"I what? Slept with? In case you haven't noticed I haven't gotten anywhere with them!"

"Because you suck at pickup lines!"

"How would you know?"

"Ivan and I talk. Just because you hated me for years doesn't mean your best friend has."

"Don't bring up Ivan," Brock growled, "We both know you wish your parent's had chosen him for your fiance."

"I was thirteen and had a major crush on him!"

"It still happened!"

"You are-"

"What? A hypocrite? Joy and Jenny were never serious-"

"Then why?"

"Because they're pretty women and there was no way in hell I was going to flirt with," Brock stopped himself.

"Flirt with what? Me? What's so terrible that you won't even look at me the way you do other girls. Take a good long look at me and tell me you don't think I'm attractive."

Brock took in her face, all sharp angles and flushed red with anger. Her hair, which was tied up at the top of her head in a bun, looked more like a rat's nest than brown hair. She had been in the process of getting dressed to go out, her jeans weren't form fitting, but her undershirt, a tank top, was.

"I, um…"

"What Brock. I dare you to finish your thought."

"You're, um…"

"I'm what? Spit it out!"

"Uh, um…"

"Oh never mind. I know what you'd say anyway. God, do you even know what I've been trying to do?"

"What have you been trying to do?"

"Shoo you out so I can get dressed," she practically batted him away.

"Go get dressed," She demanded, "We are going out on the town."

"We?" Brock asked.

"You're my fiance, you're in town, and you are taking me out on a date." She left no room for question.

* * *

An: And that's all folks. If you want an epilouge let me know. This story just didn't want to be finished, but I was determined to get this over with, and to stop dragging it out. Comment and tell me what you liked, or what you didn't like. I may even make a chapter explaining my head cannon.


End file.
